RDA issues

[Cacique]

I suddenly started having issues with my MXv4. I've been doing parallel coils 24g and replaced them with a single strand coil and now the screws don't seem to grab onto the wire unless I screw them in all the way. Some screws will go down all the way, others don't, but the coils don't feel as secure as I feel they should.

The 2nd issue that I'm having is that the contact pin has become lose. I was giving my RDA a full wipe down and then I screwed the contact pin, I was gently snugging it in when all of a sudden it just starts spinning freely. It screws in and out, but once in it spins loosely. I didn't use any force on this, tried to wipe it clean and screw it back in but it continues to spin endlessly.

And my last issue, I'm assuming related to all that is that my ohms don't seem as stable as before. After I got the coils built and screwed in, I'll assemble the RDA before dry burning it to make sure the coils aren't touching the RDA. I'll have the ohm meter on and when I put the top cap on a few times, all seems good then all of a sudden it jumps up .1 ohms, and repeats it. Sometimes it'll go down and sometimes it'll go up.

My builds are usually around .2 - .5 on a Sigelei 150, and I use an USA Ohm meter. The ohm meter took a fall, and I thought that might be it but I see the same ohm jumping on the Sigelei. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[USMCotaku]

Sounds like some stripped threading to me... Might be time for an upgrade
Sent with one hand, the other is busy vaping.

 

[paulparnham]

to stop the post spinning it could just be the 510 pin underneath the atty.
try screwing it down a bit and the ohms jumping around is probably related to your wire not making good contact in the post holes.
once again try screwing them down tighter.
if you are using the tiny little blue screwdriver the one that comes in most rda's get rid and use a proper one.

 

[Cacique]

Using a precision screwdriver instead of the blue screwdriver, and they're pushed all the way in. I've snapped the wires trying to get it to catch right, because they'll feel loose even though they're quite tight. The center post isn't spinning, but the 510 pin. It'll screw on all the way then spin freely.

This RDA is barely a month old and I don't have money to throw away every time something like this comes up, so I would rather fix it if possible. Never would have thought an authentic Mx would be flimsier than a clone. My Mxv2 clone is chewed up and the center post spins yet it worked better than this MXv4 does right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cacique]

Forgot to add that after about 5 different re-builds I get one on my MXv4 last night that seemed to work. Today it's still working, but it confuses me that it feels like I need to tight down the post screws until they're flush against the posts. I've tried tightening them just enough like I've read many times but the coils stay lose. My 510 pin will come out and screw in easily, but once it screws in it keeps spinning without backing out if you keep screwing in and comes out easily. Only found this out while putting it back together, the resistance the pin was giving me as it reached the end just disappears and it starts spinning.

Is this a problem? Can it be fixed or is it dead? Using it at the moment and it seems to be working fine, but I'm checking the volts and ohms before taking a hit an would rather get it fixed and be able to fully relax for my vape.

 

[edyle]

I suddenly started having issues with my MXv4. I've been doing parallel coils 24g and replaced them with a single strand coil and now the screws don't seem to grab onto the wire unless I screw them in all the way. Some screws will go down all the way, others don't, but the coils don't feel as secure as I feel they should.

The 2nd issue that I'm having is that the contact pin has become lose. I was giving my RDA a full wipe down and then I screwed the contact pin, I was gently snugging it in when all of a sudden it just starts spinning freely. It screws in and out, but once in it spins loosely. I didn't use any force on this, tried to wipe it clean and screw it back in but it continues to spin endlessly.

And my last issue, I'm assuming related to all that is that my ohms don't seem as stable as before. After I got the coils built and screwed in, I'll assemble the RDA before dry burning it to make sure the coils aren't touching the RDA. I'll have the ohm meter on and when I put the top cap on a few times, all seems good then all of a sudden it jumps up .1 ohms, and repeats it. Sometimes it'll go down and sometimes it'll go up.

My builds are usually around .2 - .5 on a Sigelei 150, and I use an USA Ohm meter. The ohm meter took a fall, and I thought that might be it but I see the same ohm jumping on the Sigelei. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

1: cut a short piece of wire and stick that in the hole with the coil wire

2: the centerpin screw screws into a plastic insulator; the insulator is easily stripped; it's plastic;
Some rda's like my veritas use a long bolt instead of a screw, and the bolt screws into a metal nut insulated from the body of the rda by a washer. No plastic threading to get stripped.

3: when everything is bright shiny and new, you are not as likely to have points of contact resistance from corrosion but once stuff is used and metal contact points are moving, a 0.1 ohm variation isn't surprising.

The point at the top of the pin that you took out is probably not making as good contact with what is above it.

 

[Cacique]

Thanks, I'll keep in mind the extra piece of wire. I'm not liking this as much as my parallel build so I might end up going back to that for now. Any idea how to resolve the spinning pin issue? Or is this a non-issue as long as it screws in all the way? Would be just replacing the insulator the pin goes into?

 

[edyle]

Thanks, I'll keep in mind the extra piece of wire. I'm not liking this as much as my parallel build so I might end up going back to that for now. Any idea how to resolve the spinning pin issue? Or is this a non-issue as long as it screws in all the way? Would be just replacing the insulator the pin goes into?

is it a smooth pin or is it a threaded screw?
if it is too loose you can try to get the insulator out, deform the insulator by squeezing it with a pliers, so that the pin gets a tighter fit.

 

[paulparnham]

what gauge wire are you using.
28 and upwards can be a pain.
I only use 24 cos its thicker and its a lot moredifficult to break the wire when your tightening up the screws

 

[Cacique]

Silver plated screw. I can see the insulator around it but it seems like it screws possibly to the bottom of the center post? I see metal threads around a thin insulator. I'll take pics soon and post them up.

And I've only been using 24g wire. Gonna get some 20g to play with but 24g has been my usual, usually dual parallel coils in the MXv4.

 

[Cacique]

Here's the 510 pin. Silver plated threaded screw.


And the 510 connecter without the screw, you can see the insulator and the metal threads in there. I can't remember if it always looked like that.

 

[edyle]

I guess the thread on the inside must be stripped.
I can see the threads on the short bolt/pin.

 

[Cacique]

Sheesh, I was using no pressure when that happened, I'm really surprised. So it's junk now, you think?

 

[Cacique]

Gonna give this a bump before I give up, and wanted to ask if anyone had any idea if putting a bit of teflon tape on the 510 pin/screw to make it tight would fix the issues? Or is if it's something that can't be fixed.

 

[hashtag]

Did it come with extra screws? Try a different screw and see if it goes in tight, if not your threading on the RDA may be stripped

 

[Cacique]

Well, it's the 510 pin, which is actually a screw. No extra one. It screws into metal instead of just an insulator as shown in the last pic.

 

[Cacique]

Thanks for the comment about extra screws, Hashtag. I kept thinking it would be nice to have some extra 510 pins, so I looked at my 2 other RDAs, MXv2 and a Cloud Champ and the Cloud Champ had the exact same pin, but longer. It's long enough to be a tiny bit snug, enough to keep things stable, and the shorter MXv4 510 pin seems to fit just as good in the Cloud Champ. The other issue with the jumping ohms seemed to have been the post screws. I had replaced 1 with the extra screws and it turns out that the extra screws that come with the MXv4 are shorter than the screws that are already in the post screws. I put the old screw back and tightened it with my pliers since they're a bit stripped and it's working great now. I threw in a single coil build and it's holding everything tight without needing a piece of extra wire. Guess I'll be hunting down some extra screws soon, probably some M2x4.

Thanks, everyone. Might not look it but your comments helped me brainstorm this and figure it out. I'll be picking up another MXv4 as I really like this RDA, but also pick up a few extra ones as my MXv2 which fell as my back up when I got the MXv4 seems to be giving me issues too.